Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Dec 12 – 13, 2018Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

The recent snow has been blown around by the strong winds.  These wind slabs are sitting on a weak faceted base. Perfect recipe for avalanches.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Strong winds since Monday along with the recent snowfall have created extensive wind slabs.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Strong winds since Monday along with the recent snowfall have created extensive wind slabs. Potential for full snowpack failure with these new slabs.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

The winds are supposed to stay strong (75km/hr) in the alpine from the SW until Friday. The next pulse of snow is forecast to start in the wee hours of Friday morning. Alpine temperatures on Thursday will be around -7c.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches were observed on Wednesday Dec 12 but the visibility was poor to see much.

Snowpack Summary

The alpine has received 10-15cm of new snow which has been blown into wind slabs from the strong SW winds. Expect the westerly slopes to be scoured of snow and the lee sides and cross loaded gullies to be well loaded with snow. More snow and 75km/hr winds for Thursday will continue to grow the wind slabs. Expect these new slabs to be touchy and if they do release, they will probably step down into the weak base layers and involve the whole snowpack.

Regions covered